______ is a type of appeal that tries to make readers feel something.
The answer is pathos. Pathos is the rhetorical appeal that tries to make readers feel something by stirring their emotions. It is one of Aristotle's three modes of persuasion, alongside ethos (credibility) and logos (logic and reason).
The answer
The word that fills the blank is pathos. Pathos is the persuasive appeal to emotion — the strategy a writer or speaker uses to make an audience feel something: pity, anger, hope, fear, pride, or compassion. When an argument makes your chest tighten or your eyes water, that is pathos at work. It comes from the Greek word for "suffering" or "experience," and it is one of the three classical rhetorical appeals identified by Aristotle.
The three rhetorical appeals
Pathos never works alone. Aristotle described three modes of persuasion, and skilled writers blend them:
- Ethos — appeal to credibility. Convinces the audience the speaker is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and of good character ("As a doctor with twenty years of experience...").
- Pathos — appeal to emotion. Moves the audience's feelings to make them care ("Imagine your own child going to bed hungry tonight...").
- Logos — appeal to logic. Uses facts, evidence, reasoning, and statistics to prove a point ("Studies show a 40% reduction in...").
Because the question specifically asks about the appeal that tries to make readers feel something, the answer must be pathos. Ethos targets trust, and logos targets the mind — only pathos targets the heart.
How to recognize pathos
Writers build pathos through vivid, sensory description, emotionally charged word choice (connotation), personal anecdotes and storytelling, and imagery that lets readers picture suffering or joy. A charity ad showing a shivering animal, a politician invoking a family's struggle, or a novelist describing a child's fear are all using pathos to create an emotional response that pushes the audience toward a conclusion.
The reason emotional appeals are so common is that feeling often drives action faster than reasoning does. Facts inform, but emotion motivates — a reader who feels the stakes is more likely to be persuaded, to donate, to vote, or to change their mind. That said, pathos is strongest when it supports a sound argument rather than replacing one. Emotion without evidence can slide into manipulation, which is why the most convincing writing pairs pathos with logos (proof) and ethos (credibility).
Why the alternatives are wrong
Students often second-guess between the three Greek terms. Keep them straight this way: if the goal is to make readers trust the speaker, that is ethos. If the goal is to make readers follow the reasoning, that is logos. If the goal — as the question states — is to make readers feel something, it can only be pathos. Related terms like "tone" or "diction" describe how a writer creates the feeling, but the appeal itself is named pathos.
______ is a type of appeal that tries to make readers feel something.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between pathos, ethos, and logos?
They are Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals. Ethos appeals to credibility and the speaker's character, logos appeals to logic through facts and reasoning, and pathos appeals to emotion to make the audience feel something. Strong persuasion usually combines all three rather than relying on one.
What are examples of pathos in writing?
Common examples include a charity ad describing a suffering animal, a politician telling a moving story about a struggling family, or a novelist using vivid imagery to convey a character's fear. Any language that stirs pity, anger, hope, or compassion to persuade is pathos.
How do you identify pathos in an argument?
Look for emotionally charged word choice, vivid sensory imagery, personal anecdotes, and storytelling designed to make you feel rather than think. If a passage's main effect is to trigger an emotional response — sympathy, outrage, fear — to move you toward a conclusion, it is using pathos.
Why do writers use emotional appeals?
Because emotion often motivates action more powerfully than logic alone. Readers who feel the stakes of an issue are more likely to be persuaded, to care, and to act. Pathos is most effective, though, when it supports solid evidence rather than replacing it, so it doesn't become manipulation.